A Fleeting Whisper
by zhugeliangsgrl
Summary: When his life is in jeopardy, Zhuge Liang must find the courage to admit the truth about himself and his feelings. Warning: character death...no an...so thanks to anyone who reviews...


Yue Ying shut her eyes, concentrating on her goal. One breath in and one breath out, in through the nose and out through the mouth. She opened her eyes and wiped sweat from her forehead. She raised her scythe into the air and twirled it behind her, following with a pattern of movements. To some she was ugly; to him she was an angel. Zhuge Liang observed the woman from afar. He often wished he could find a girl, one who could understand and relate to him, someone who could find interest in strategy and philosophy. He often wondered if it was possible to find such a person. He fanned himself a little, surveying the sky then turned and sneezed. With all of his work he had found sparse amounts of time to eat and sleep, this had put him a little under the weather. Now was the time for a final campaign. The end was in sight…he wished. All those years of work he devoted his life to, summed up in one last battle. But what Zhuge Liang hoped for and what he knew were two gravely separate things. He had rallied his men, planned his strategy, left his books to Jiang Wei. The preparations were complete…for his death. Deep in his heart he understood it was inevitable. He knew he had failed his master's first and last wishes. The moment was forever set in his mind. He had slowly walked to Xuande's bedside. Liu Bei pulled him closer, straining all his effort in a final sentence, "Complete my destiny, unite the land." Zhuge Liang realized he could never live up to that dream and it scared him. He thought about how deeply Liu Bei had held him, entrusting his whole legacy to one man. He wondered if Xuande had made a wrong decision. The Sleeping Dragon was a scholar, but all the knowledge in the world was not enough to end the chaos. Both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang would die incomplete; without the satisfaction of knowing they had restored peace to the land…or so the Sleeping Dragon thought…

"Halt." Zhuge Liang yelled to Yue Ying, "Your thrust is off; it should be here." He redirected her point.

"Many thanks, Master Liang, I believe you are correct." Kongming smiled He was the greatest scholar of his time, but in the presence of this woman he felt dumb. He was a man of words, but in front of her he was speechless.

"Um, yes, of course."

"Perhaps you could help me."

"With?"

"Well, there's this position…it's a new style."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's simple, really…" Zhuge Liang took her practice sword.

"Like this," he said, placing his hands on her hips and positioning them. He ran his fingertips up her back, checking for posture. Touching her felt…wonderful. "That's about right but…"

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Hey, are you too busy because I was going out by the pond in the forest and I was hoping I'd have a friend to come along."

"No, I'm not _too_ busy." He smiled, "Besides we leave for the campaign next week. We have to have fun while we can." Zhuge Liang realized he spoke as if he knew he wasn't coming back. Absurdity to know, but he did. The feeling was haunting.

'Yes, I should think so. We haven't spoken in awhile." Liang remembered they used to talk rather often.

"Just business I guess." Her eyes shifted to the sky.

"Yeah, what do you make of that?"

"It's going to rain, " he frowned. He didn't want it to. "I suppose you wish to go in?" He sighed not at all subtly. Yue Ying grinned.

"Not unless the great Shu strategist is afraid of a little water." Zhuge Liang smirked.

"Never."

Sure enough as they began to walk in the forest, the rain began to pour. Yue Ying stood and opened her arms, allowing the little droplets to soak her hair and clothes. She pulled two tiny cups from her belt and let them fill with water. Handing Zhuge Liang one, they raised them high.

"Cheers, to our victory at Wu Zhang!"

"No, cheers to little moments with friends like these." They tapped the glasses and brought them to their lips, imagining it was the finest of wines. Yue Ying took Kongming's hand and led him to a spot a little more open where they gazed into the twilight. Liang slipped on a rock, taking the girl down with him but they only sat there, laughing, side by side, head to head, looking up into the sky.

"Remember, Liang, we used to go out to the ponds all the time when it rained when we were kids."

"And the dandelion patch. You would make a crown of them and place them on your head, pretending to be an Empress."

"Don't you ever miss those times?" She whispered.

"More than you know." Kongming spotted a little flower to his left. It was a violet, small and drenched in it's lovliness. He plucked it and turned to the girl beside him. When he looked into her eyes, there was no fate, no death, no eternity, there was only her. If there was a heaven, he was sure this was it. He pushed back a few locks of her hair behind her ear and placed it there, his hand slowly guided down her cheek and neck.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Of course, milady."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Yue Ying struggled to prop the Prime Minister up. He pointed to his star; it waned in the heavens. She closed her eyes, allowing a single tear to leave a path on her rosy cheek.

"Leave us," he managed only a whisper to the many Shu officers crowding around them. Zhuge Liang no longer held his command, that aura that made one's heart glow in his presence. No radiant light made him seem like a god; just a dim gloom surrounded them both. "Why are you crying?"

"Because I can't stop the tears. You can't die, Zhuge, I won't let you." Her throat burned as she struggled to speak through the tears.

"But it pains me, milady." He reached a hand to her cheek and swept the tiny droplets from her face as the wind blew the air in a frenzy around them. She held his hand there clinging to the warmth it still held, his warmth. If he could live for one reason, it would be for her. "My time is up, I—"

"I won't let you…I love you to much." A little spark returned to his eye and a long pause followed.

"I thought I would never hear those words from you. Now I can die, completed by your love."

"No—"

"But I ask just one more thing."

"Anything in the world."

'Don't forget me."

"I won't." His hand clung to her face as he stared into her eyes, those beautiful sapphire eyes.

"I love you, Yue Ying." She bent down to him, engaging his lips. His last breath was her kiss. And now he was whole. A star passed the heavens and The Sleeping Dragon slept once more.


End file.
